When the First Emperor ascended the throne, the digging and preparation at Mount Li began. After he unified his empire, he sent 700,000 people to work. They dug down deep to underground springs, pouring copper to place the outer casing of the coffin. Palaces and viewing towers housing a hundred officials were built and filled with treasures and rare artefacts. Workmen were instructed to make automatic crossbows primed to shoot at intruders. Mercury was used to create a hundred rivers and the ocean, and set to flow mechanically. Above, the heaven is depicted, below, the geographical features of the land. Candles were made of "mermaid"'s fat whose light would not extinguish for a long time.

From Old Japanese. Compound of 水(mizu, “water”) +‎ 銀(kane, “metal, silver”). The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Appears in the Wamyō Ruijushō Japanese dictionary of 938 CE as mizukane, suggesting that the shift to rendaku is more recent.[1][2]